Now? Not so much. Rising rents have made what was once an ugly duckling of the Westside a new home for UCLA students, community college–goers and young professionals:

The education location website Niche Ink looked at the number of people age 25 to 34, median rent, median income, percentage of population with degrees, diversity and low unemployment to come up with its determination (with some dubious data thrown in).

The lower Westside community has a population of 40,000 and has a median household income of $57,124 (which is above the national average), according to the site. It's 38 percent white, 25 percent Asian, 23 percent Latino and nearly 9 percent African America.

About 58 percent Palmsians have a bachelor's or master's degree, according to Niche Ink.

Nationally, L.A. ranked as the 17th best American city for millennials (and yet they keep coming).

Factors include a $1,218 median rent (which sounds a little low to us), a $26,482 median income (that's definitely questionable), and a small, 14 percent slice of the demographic pie that's age 25 to 34.

The median household income for L.A., according to the U.S. Census, is $56,241. Per capita income, including children and individuals, takes us down to $27,900, according to the Census. But Niche Ink is saying Palms has a $57,124 median household income. The site appears to be using apples-and-oranges data.

In any case, that's quite a low rank for a city that attracts tons of out-of-state young people with stars in their eyes. Niche Ink says the No. 1 millennial city is New York, which appears to attract people for many of the same reasons.

Strangely, New York has the same 25-34 number, 14 percent, a lower median rent of $1,157 (that just can't be), and a higher median income of $31,703.

We're starting to have our doubts about this list. But Palms — yeah, it's hot, in an average apartment kind of way.